U.S. renewable energy developer Principal Solar has secured a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Duke Energy Corp. for a 78.5 MW solar plant it is building in Hope Mills, North Carolina.
The $173 million project is scheduled to be connected to the grid in early 2016, with Dallas-based Principal Solar set to secure full ownership rights of the plant from Innovative Solar Systems LLC no later than June 3.
Principal Solar released a press statement confirming the PPA agreement with Duke Energy, which is the leading utility in North Carolina and a pioneer on solar power investment. The Hope Mills project will become the largest solar farm east of the Rockies once complete, with only the huge utility-scale plants of Arizona and California to the west bigger.
"This project launches Principal Solar as a leader in the solar utility sector, meeting the growing demand for zero-emission, cost-efficient energy," said Principal Solar chairman and CEO Michael Gorton. "This high-quality project has a stable source of long-term revenue and represents another major step forward for the U.S. solar industry."
Duke Energy has been extremely proactive in delivering North Carolinas energy transition, and has backed a series of utility-scale projects across the state. The utility also owns and operates a number of solar parks and currently has more than 278 MW of solar PV on its books.
North Carolina is itself a keen advocate for solar power, and has installed the third-highest amount of PV capacity statewide in the U.S., after California and Arizona.
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